I loved the way queerness (and how 1950s society viewed queerness) never stopped being relevant. Every single moment with our almost entirely queer cast is suffused with that balance of performance and authenticity. The mystery was solid and well-developed.
So why only 3 stars? It was fine. Enjoyable. But the writing itself didn’t feel special. There were really only 2 interesting characters in the whole cast (and our MC and narrator was not one of them). I think it could have been so much more than it was if we’d gotten a bit more time with all of the characters. I suppose in order to sell us on the mystery, the side characters (aka the suspects) had to keep some of their mystique in order to keep the readers guessing, but I'd almost rather have seen through the mystery and gotten a really good character-driven story than be potentially shocked by the reveal in exchange for nebulous characters.
So why only 3 stars? It was fine. Enjoyable. But the writing itself didn’t feel special. There were really only 2 interesting characters in the whole cast (and our MC and narrator was not one of them). I think it could have been so much more than it was if we’d gotten a bit more time with all of the characters. I suppose in order to sell us on the mystery, the side characters (aka the suspects) had to keep some of their mystique in order to keep the readers guessing, but I'd almost rather have seen through the mystery and gotten a really good character-driven story than be potentially shocked by the reveal in exchange for nebulous characters.